By Lizbeth Galeno Contributor
Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” took the top slot at the box office in its opening weekend with a box office earning of $50 million. What about this horror film gave it so much success from the start? Perhaps it was its fresh approach to fear.
Maybe some excitement comes from the adored Hollywood couple, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, starring in this film together. After all, their celebrity friends did fill this weekend’s social media feeds with support for their friends’ film. Still though, what part of the actual film was it that compelled even Stephen King, notable king of horror, to call the film “an extraordinary piece of work?”
"...the theater’s painful silence is too loud to ignore, so much so that one should probably think twice before bringing snacks."
The film is set in a dystopian era where violent and unearthly creatures with acute hearing hunt and kill just seconds after any noise is made. “A Quiet Place” shows the story of a family living in a world with no societal connection to anyone but themselves, made up of a pregnant mother, a father and their children. This family lives with one rule: “If they hear you, they hunt you.”
What really stands out about this film is how personal it gets. This is a film that’s almost interactive, where our childhood silent game becomes a life or death situation. Additionally, the theater’s painful silence is too loud to ignore, so much so that one should probably think twice before bringing snacks. Any whisper, let alone any crinkling bag of chips or candy opening, is hard to ignore when watching this film. What’s different about this horror film is that your experience of moviegoing is challenged. In fact, it’s almost as if you have personally been challenged to take part in the silent game with this on-screen family.
"This time, you’re not scared for yourself, you’re actually more scared for the characters you’ve become invested in."
“A Quiet Place” does a good job at tapping into your emotions in ways most horror movies don’t. Usually, in your average horror movie, you’re scared of what’s about to pop out, or the gruesome head twists and filtered demonic voices. This time, you’re not scared for yourself, you’re actually more scared for the characters you’ve become invested in.
The horror of this film is in how terrified they’ve made you to see any harm come to these characters. “A Quiet Place” sinks into any average person’s instinctive need to protect their family and the people they love, and makes you think about what you would do to protect yours.
With raving critical acclaim and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96 percent, “A Quiet Place” delivers a fresh take on fear.
